


All I Want for Christmas Is You

by Bookwormpride



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora is confused, Bow is a kid on Literal Christmas, Christmas, Domestic Fluff, Etherian Christmas, F/F, Fluff, I'm aware of the implications of there being Christmas on Etheria but I'm chosing to ignore them, Mistletoe, Pining, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Some good ol' season 1-2 Catradora pining in the middle, so much pining, with a side of very light angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:40:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28245567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookwormpride/pseuds/Bookwormpride
Summary: Adora only needs one thing, oneperson, to make Christmas perfect.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 94





	All I Want for Christmas Is You

_Snow_. It had _snowed_ in the _Fright Zone_.

Stepping out of the doors to the vehicle bay Adora was momentarily blinded by the unusually bright light. As her eyes adjusted she took in the familiar landscape of metal and concrete, now covered in a dusting of white as puffy flakes continued to fall around them, the usual banging and whirring of the Fright Zone oddly hushed.

Suddenly Shadow Weaver telling the squad to bundle up before going out made sense.

It was always cooler in the Fright Zone at this time of year, but in all her life Adora had never seen it _snow_.

“Whoa,” Lonnie awed as the bay doors shut behind them.

“It’s so... pretty,” Kyle said, looking around with wide eyes. Rogelio gave a quiet rumble of agreement beside him.

Adora crouched, taking off one of her thin grey gloves to press a hand into the snow. “It’s cold!” She gasped, recoiling, then seeing the print she left behind, exclaimed, “Look! It’s my hand!”

Kyle lifted his foot to see the indent left from his boot underneath, laughing as Rogelio stepped back to compare his in size. 

“Can we just get this over with? It’s freezing,” Catra grumbled. Adora looked up to see her standing over her with her arms crossed and hopping a little in place in an attempt to warm up.

“ _You_ want to work?” Adora questioned, quirking an eyebrow and standing. “Am I dreaming, because between that and the snow-”

“If my tail gets frostbite and falls off I’m strangling you with it,” Catra snapped.

“You could use it as a scarf!” Adora laughed, earning a light shove from Catra in response as they started walking further out into the snow.

It was their squads turn on unloading duty, taking the crates from the back of the incoming transports and sorting them into piles based on where in the Fright Zone they were going. It wasn’t the worst job to be assigned to, certainly preferable to latrine duty, and Adora liked seeing what the soldiers brought in from lands outside the Fright Zone.

Adora was inching her way out of a trucks’ cargo hold, dragging one of the heavy metal boxes with her, when a pile of snow dropped on her from above. She squealed as it covered her head and shoulders, cold clumps dropping down the collar of her coat to melt against her skin in freezing rivulets.

Her head snapped up to see where the assault came from, to find Catra grinning wickedly, perched on the edge of the cargo holds roof, her tail swishing. There was a gap in the thick covering of snow beside her.

“Huh,” Catra smirked, feigning innocence. “I didn’t know snow in piles fell like- what are you doing?”

Maintaining eye contact the whole time, Adora shaped the mound of snow she had scooped up from the ground into a ball between her palms, pulled her arm back-

Catra shrieked as she got a facefull of snow, her fur puffing up and tail going straight as a rod behind her while Adora howled with laughter, clutching her stomach.

“I’m going to kill you!” Catra threatened, gathering a handful of the white powder from beside her.

Backing out of the truck next to theirs Lonnie groaned, “C’mon you two, we have work to do.”

Her complaint fell on deaf ears as Adora wearily stepped back, watching Catra above. “Don’t you dare,” She warned, shaking her head.

A single fang stuck out from Catras lip as she smirked, and whipped the ball of snow.

Adora ducked and the projectile went over her head - hitting Rogelio behind her. Catra threw her head back with peels of laughter.

“Sorry, Rogelio!” Adora apologized, cringing.

Noticing Kyle also snickering, Rogelio gathered a fistfull of snow from the top of some crates nearby and flicked it at him.

That was all it took for the four of them to begin hurling snowballs at each other, laughing and goading each other on, covered in snow, the cold and wet completely ignored in the midst of their fun.

Adora noticed Lonnie still pulling boxes from the back of the truck, stubbornly focusing on her work.

Adora scraped up a bigger mound of snow then the rest and silently crept up behind Lonnie, her footsteps muffled by the powder on the ground, and brought it down over her head.

“Adora!” Lonnie cried. In one fluid movement she reached down to swipe a fistful of snow at her feet and whipped around to chase after Adora for revenge, and seeing her joining in Rogelio and Kyle began pummeling her with snowballs as well.

Adora was standing back next to a row of trucks, laughing as she watched Kyle fall to the ground and curl up protectively under a deluge from Lonnie and Rogelio, when she heard Catra call from behind her, “Hey Adora!” 

She had barely turned when she was knocked off her feet with an _‘oof’_ by a blur of brown fur and red uniform into a small snowbank that was piling up at the edge of the tarmack .

Catra sat on Adoras waist, pinning her to the ground with their chests pressed together so close that Adora could feel her shaking with laughter. With her face only inches away from Adoras own she could see every freckle scattered across Catras cheeks and the way her nose scrunched up in her delight and the snowflakes that were stuck in the hair that fell over her shoulders.

Adora felt a fluttering in her stomach and a desire to pull Catra closer, to brush her fingers over her slightly reddened cheeks. She wanted to press their foreheads together and admire the colors the pale light turned Catras mismatched eyes.

Unsure what to do with the feeling that made her slightly uneasy the longer she lingered on it, she shoved a handful of snow in Catras face, hearing her muffled yelp under Adoras gloved hand.

“What's going on here?” 

Startling at the harsh bark, Catra practically fell over herself trying to get up while Adora slipped in the snow and barely managed to regain her balance, the cadets snapping to attention as Force Captain Octavia stalked up to them, scowling with her arms folded.

“Sorry, Force Captain Octavia,” Lonnie began, looking nervously down the row of the rest of her squad. “We were- we just-”

“Were slacking off,” Octavia snapped. “The Horde has _no_ use for cadets who waste time, you have a job to do and if you can’t or _won’t_ do it you will be replaced, understand?”

The cadets nodded.

“Get back to work, and _don’t_ let me catch you fooling around again,” Octavia threatened with a hard stare at each of them in turn. 

A chorus of ‘yes Force Captain’ rang out from all five of them as Octavia turned on her heel and stalked back to the vehicle bay doors. 

The squad let out a sigh of relief, and disappointedly returned to the truck beds to finish unloading.

That night during recreation period Adora, with Catra, Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio sat in one of the corridors off of the dining hall, huddled around a vent in the wall that blew hot air from the kitchen below in hopes of chasing the lingering chill from their bones.

“You’re so paying for that tomorrow,” Lonnie warned Adora without any real animosity. “I’m gonna kick your _butt_ when we spar.”

“You can try,” Adora snorted nonchalantly, leaning back on her hands. “But, Rogelio, your face when that snowball hit you-” 

Catra snickered as Rogelio roared in protest, waving his hand and pointing at her.

“I can’t believe you guys ganged up on me like that,” Kyle whined.

“Aw, it’s no different then every other day of your life,” Lonnie said with faux sympathy, reaching over to ruffle his hair as he pouted.

Adora noticed Catra taking the last bite of her grey raton bar. She looked at her own remaining grey bar on the floor next to her lap, and picked it up, silently holding it out to her. 

Catra took it with a grateful smile, the real-kind that she only ever gave Adora, that made Adora feel warm and light and like she could take on a whole squad combat sim on her own.

That was all Adora needed to make giving up the best tasting ration worth it.

* * *

Adora found Bow and Glimmer in the throne room amidst bustling Brightmoon staff, ladders that reached up to the towering ceiling, and piles of boxes that she could see at a glance were full of colorful trinkets. 

She thought she was getting used to the strange happenings in Brightmoon, but this was out of the ordinary even for them.

“Hey guys,” She called slowly, sidestepping out of the way of a guard passing by with an armful of red bows. “What’s going on? What is all this?”

Coming out of her bedroom that morning Adora had found the hallway outside her door lined with red and gold ribbons hanging overhead, evergreen tree branches twisted into circles lining the walls, and sparkling lights floating magically through the corridors.

In her search for Bow and Glimmer to ask about the new decor she discovered it was the same through the entire palace and only became more confused.

At the sound of her voice, Bow and Glimmer whirled around to face her. “It’s Christmas!” They exclaimed in unison, as if that explained anything.

Seeing Adoras blank stare Glimmer visibly deflated. 

“Right,” Glimmer muttered, exchanging a look with Bow that Adora was beginning to notice they shared whenever it was revealed her lack of understanding on things that were common knowledge to them. “I guess this is… is your first Christmas!” She said with an effort to sound more enthusiastic then the slightly sad tinge to her smile suggested.

Bow laid a hand on Adoras arm. “Christmas is a big celebration of joy and hope and love,” He started with a warm smile.

As he spoke Adora looked up to the ceiling where there hung intricately cut pieces of paper in shapes she recognized as snowflakes from seeing the pattern repeated all over the Kingdom of Snows, dangling at different lengths as if falling over the throne room.

“You get together with friends and family,”

She remembered the first real snow she ever saw and with it the memory of lying on her back with Catra leaning over her as flakes fell through the smog covered sky of the Fright Zone, with Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelios laughter behind them.

“And you give people gifts to show how much you care about them.”

Glimmer teleported to Bows' side, grabbing Adoras hands excitedly. “And you can sit around the fireplace together and tell winter stories and eat all the holiday baking!”

The thought of huddling around a kitchen vent in an empty hallway flashed through her mind, the air billowing out of it chasing away the chill from being outside, passing Catra the last of her grey bars and the giddy feeling she had gotten from knowing she had made her happy - a gift before she had even known what ‘gift giving’ was.

Her chest suddenly felt achingly hollow, a feeling Adora was beginning to realize came with thinking of the Fright Zone and the friends she left behind. She kept her eyes trained on the paper snowflakes above as her eyes stung, her throat tight.

An arm flung around her shoulder brought her back to the present, to where Glimmer was practically bouncing in place in anticipation. “And every year Brightmoon has a huge feast on Christmas day and it’s a big party and _half_ the _kingdom_ comes to celebrate!”

Adora shook her head. “I still don’t get the-”

She was interrupted by a great rustling from the doorway to the throne room, and a cry of “out of the way!” Bows' gaze snapped over Adoras shoulder and immediately his face lit up.

“It’s here!” Glimmer squealed, teleporting behind Adora, who turned to see what the excitement was about.

A pine tree, at least sixty feet tall, was being pulled on its side through the entrance by a couple dozen Brightmoon staff.

“What’s that for?” Adora asked, perplexed.

“It’s for the throne room!” Glimmer said. “And _we_ get to decorate it!”

“Well, us, and the rest of the Brightmoon residents,” Bow added more reasonably.

Adora watched the staff that had brought the tree in using ropes to pull it upright. “Decorate it- how?” 

Her question was answered by Bow and Glimmer diving into the closest pile of boxes to pull out shiny, sparkling bulbs, and proceeding to give her a lesson on how to hang them on the trees branches.

“There’s no right or wrong way,” Bow promised when he saw her anxiously looking back and forth from the pink, pear-shaped sphere in her hand that Glimmer had given her and the tree. “You can hang it anywhere.”

She placed the ornament at eye level and carefully considered it in relation to the nearby bulbs before deciding she was satisfied with the spot and getting another decoration from the boxes.

Queen Angella soon joined them with a delighted smile at the sight of the tree, and as the morning went on more and more Brightmoon residents filled the throne room, rifling through the containers and dangling their contents from the branches. The air was filled with chatter and laughter and the sound of Glimmer teleporting to reach high boughs. 

It wasn’t long before the tree was covered in decorations in a rainbow of colors and the boxes that had held them were scattered, empty, around the room.

Everyone stood back to admire their handiwork, and Glimmer leaned in to Adora. “This is the best part,” She said with a beaming smile.

At the front of the throne room the General handed Queen Angella a silver crescent moon, larger than any of the decorations they had hung so far. A hush fell over the gathered residents when she stepped forward, and with one powerful flap of her wings rose to the top of the tree.

There, Queen Angella placed the moon ornament, and as it settled onto the point the rest of the tree lit up, casting the throne room and it’s onlookers in a warm glow, and a cheer went up through the crowd.

“Wow,” Adora gasped at the sight.

The Horde would have considered such a waste of space and energy frivolous, and it was true that, as far as Adora could tell, the tree served no functional purpose, but looking at the thousands of lights among the branches that shone brighter than half the Fright Zone, the ornaments in more colors then Adora believed she had ever seen before coming to Brightmoon, she was filled with a sense of wonder that made it feel like anything but a waste.

A part of her wondered if Catra would enjoy it too…

“Now,” Glimmer announced, turning on Adora with a hand on her hip, a determined look in her eye, and a grin. “To teach you about the _rest_ of Christmas.”

With the tree decorating marking the official beginning of the ‘Christmas season’ Adora quickly found herself caught up in a month of traditions and festivities, with only a handful of small scuffles against the Horde to provide some semblance of normalcy. 

She baked cookies with Bow and Glimmer in the gigantic Brightmoon kitchen, laughing as they got icing on their faces and eating half of the first batch before they had even cooled.

She went gift shopping in the Brightmoon market with Bow, who then showed her how to wrap the presents in thick, brightly colored paper and ribbons, patiently demonstrating for her time and time again as she got more and more frustrated at her disastrous folding.

When the Princess Alliance got together for a mission Perfuma and Sea Hawk took it upon themselves to make sure she heard the classic carols of the holiday and sang together on either side of her at they made their way through the Whispering Woods - with Mermista groaning behind them and Adora wishing she had chosen ear muffs like Glimmer rather than a hat for warmth (and their noise muffling properties.)

And then it was Christmas day.

Adora was used to being one of the first people in the castle awake, always up at dawn to start her day with warm up stretches and a round with the punching bag in the empty Brightmoon gym.

But she had barely gotten out of bed when Bow was flinging open her door with an enthusiasm few had so early in the morning, still in his heart patterned pajamas and bare feet.

“Merry Christmas!” He greeted brightly when he saw her awake.

“Uh, merry Christmas...?” Adora returned uncertainly. “Is there a mission? Did something happen?” That was the only reason she could think of to explain why he was up just after moonrise.

“No no,” He placated. “But we can open our presents now! And there’s a _huge_ breakfast in the dining hall, let's go get Glimmer.”

As Adora could have predicted, Glimmer was less than thrilled to be woken up no matter what day it was.

“So _help me_ , Bow,” She threatened, her voice rough from sleep and muffled with her head under a fluffy pink pillow. “It’s _Christmas_ , Christmas is supposed to be _enjoyable_. I find _sleeping_ enjoyable.”

“Christmas is supposed to be spent _together_ ,” Bow stressed, leaning with one knee on her bed from the floating stairs while Adora stood behind him a step down, watching the interaction play out. “And I want to see you open the present I got you.”

At his not-so-subtle temptation Glimmer finally threw the pillow down to glare at him. “It better be _good_.”

Adora snorted. “Do you do this every year?”

“It’s practically part of the tradition,” Bow said at the same time as Glimmer grumbled, “Unfortunately.”

From there the day seemed to pass in a wonderful, shimmering haze of fun activities - breakfast that could rival normal dinners in decadence and gift opening in the glow of a smaller tree in one of Brightmoons sitting rooms with Queen Angella joining them. No one judged Adoras lack of wrapping skills, and the Swift Wind figurine Bow gave her to go with their battle figures and the sweater from Glimmer's Aunt Casta were more than Adora could have asked for.

There were lots of guests to greet - half the kingdom seemed to show up in Brightmoon for the occasion just like Glimmer had said, and they fell into the crowd going for a walk through the Brightmoon gardens to see the blooming Noelle flowers that only opened on Christmas day.

Then there was the feast, easily big enough to have fed the entire population of the Fright Zone twice, composed of a variety of meats, gravies, vegetables, breads, and so many kinds of desserts Adora couldn’t name them all.

And when they returned to the throne room it was suddenly filled with piles of pillows and blankets, small metal fire pits set up throughout to keep the room toasty as night fell, the tree they had put up on the first day shining brightly in the center.

Hot drinks were passed around, and the same songs Sea Hawk and Perfuma had introduced her to were played by the band - and sung along to by many partygoers. Adora was thankful for the hot chocolate and Castaspellas sweater whenever the wind blew in through the entrance's wide open arch.

Sitting with Bow and Glimmer in a pile of pillows, only half listening to their conversation, Netossa and Spinerella caught Adoras eye from across the room as they abruptly stopped, Netossa pointing upwards with a sly smirk, and Spinerella easily pulling her in by the waist for a kiss. Adora looked over their heads to see a small leafy plant dotted with white berries dangling there.

“What are they doing?” Adora asked, confused by the seemingly random display of affection.

Bow and Glimmer followed her gaze. “Oh, of course _they_ would find the _one_ piece of mistletoe in the room,” Glimmer snickered.

“Mistletoe?” Adora questioned, her eyes drifting back to watch Spinerella playfully stumbling backwards to stand under the plant once they started to move on.

“When two people get caught under the mistletoe they’re supposed to kiss,” Bow said.

Adora could see Netossa giggling against Spinerellas mouth. She wondered what that felt like, to feel someone's laughter mingle with your own, like how she used to be able to feel Catras when they pressed close enough together. Her mouth went dry, her stomach twisting. “Why?” She managed to croak.

Bow shrugged. “Dunno, it’s just something people do.”

The hot chocolate in Adoras hands suddenly didn’t taste so sweet, and the atmosphere in the room went from matching her own joy to an overwhelming contrast to the ache filling her chest.

Adora stood. “I need some air,” She muttered to Bow and Glimmer.

“Are you okay?” Glimmer asked, her tone and expression full of concern. “Do you want us to come with you?”

“No,” Adora said quickly, waving her hand dismissively. “I’m just… a little hot. I’ll be back in a bit. Stay.”

They looked skeptical but didn’t push further as she quickly ducked and weaved through the crowd and into the empty halls of Brightmoon.

She wandered until she found a balcony far enough away from the throne room that the sounds of the party were distant, as easily as ignored as the thrumming of machinery in the background of her childhood. She stepped out into the cool air, taking a deep breath and going to lean against the railing, placing the mug of hot chocolate she had forgotten to put down beside her folded arms.

With a bitter start she realized the balcony she found herself on faced out over the Whispering Woods, and in the distance, too far away to see from Brightmoon but there, as surely as the moons were there when the sky was cloudy, the Fright Zone, the place her thoughts kept returning to even in the happiest of moments, when she shouldn’t long for any part of that place.

Except, it wasn’t the Fright Zone she kept thinking of, but the people she had known there - the people she had stood side by side with, planned a future with, for most of her life and now wondered about from a distance.

Kyle would have been way better at wrapping presents then Adora, and Lonnie would have had the best stories to tell around the fire, and Rogelio would have enjoyed decorating the tree and his height would have been an advantage.

She wondered if Catra would have liked the pancakes for breakfast with whip cream or syrup, and she knew she would have loved the fireplaces amongst the pillows in the throne room the same way she always loved sitting atop the barracks furnace that only turned on when it got really cold.

And she could imagine Catras voice in her mind, the fang-baring smirk she would give if she and Adora were caught under the mistletoe. _‘If it’s a rule. I know how much you_ hate _breaking rules...’_

Adora abruptly pushed herself away from the railing, a blush burning on her face as she shook the thought from her head, looking around guiltily as if someone might have caught her and read her mind.

As her heartbeat slowed she drooped against the railing once again, picking up her hot chocolate to warm her fingers that had begun to go numb in the cold wind and stared out towards the Fright Zone.

She wondered what Catra was doing at that moment. She wouldn’t be celebrating Christmas, unaware of its existence as Adora had once been, but she hoped she was having a good evening, with a grey ration bar for dinner, and nothing to do during free period. 

Or, Adora supposed sadly, she could be planning her next attack on the rebellion, moving even further from the best friend Adora thought she had known.

Bow had said Christmas was supposed to be a time of togetherness, so why, while her friends were only a few halls away waiting for her to return, and she had been surrounded by people all day, did Adora feel so lonely?

* * *

In the months after the defeat of Horde Prime there were many celebrations, so many that Adora sometimes felt like she never wanted to go to another party again, but somehow Christmas still felt extra special that year.

Since Adora had been in Brightmoon she had celebrated the holiday three times, but this was the first without a war hanging over everyone's heads, with all the Princesses closer than ever before and coming around more often, with a planet that was teeming with magic that seemed to make the season even more, well, magical.

And of course, her and Catra were together. 

Adora had been delighted to get to share with her the holiday that she herself had only learned about a few years prior. 

It had been a month of sparkling lights that she watched reflect in Catras eyes, and kisses that tasted extra sweet from all the seasonal goodies, laughter that warmed them from the inside out even as the air got colder, and songs that Adora suddenly understood with Catra by her side.

And maybe a few arguments over who kept breaking the ornaments by batting them off the tree in the throne room when she thought no one was looking.

Even the mornings were nicer. As much as Adora enjoyed an early work out as the daytime moons rose she found it hard to leave the comfort of their sheets when Catra was curled around her side, and Melog was keeping her feet warm at the end of the bed, and the even rhythm of their breathing lulled her back into unconsciousness. 

Except when Bow burst in her bedroom door first thing.

Adora jolted upright at the disturbance, dislodging a still-sleeping Catra from her chest and frantically looking about for the danger, on high alert and at the ready with her fists up and the words to transform on the tip of her tongue.

“What- huh?” Catra grumbled from where she had landed splayed on the other side of the bed, rubbing her face as she propped herself up on an elbow. At their feet Melog rumbled, blinking dazedly.

“It snowed!” Bow exclaimed, leaving the doors open as he ran to pull back Adoras canopy to give her a view of the balcony outside her room. “ _On_ Christmas!”

Seeing who it was, Melog huffed and laid their head down again. Adora let out a breath and relaxed, looking to see what he was so excited about.

Outside, the world had turned white - the heavy clouds in the sky, the tops of the trees in the Whispering Woods, the porch railing that was dusted in the fine powder and glittering like a thousand tiny jewels in the morning light. Adora stared in awe, the quiet unbroken as the three of them took in the sight.

Then Catra groaned. “Are you serious right now?” She flung herself back down, throwing an arm over her eyes to block out the light.

“It hasn’t snowed in Brightmoon in at least a thousand years,” Bow mused, glancing over his shoulder at Adora. “But... ever since you restored the planet-”

“All the ecosystems are returning to the way they were,” Adora easily finished for him the conclusion they kept coming back to since the event in question that changed almost everything about how Etheria had functioned for as long as any of them remembered.

“Ugh, if you two are going to be all nerdy I’m going to go keep sleeping in a guest room,” Catra warned unconvincingly, as at the same time she draped her arm over Adoras waist and nuzzled her face into her side. 

“It’s so pretty,” Bow marvelled from the window. “Merry Christmas, by the way.”

“Merry Christmas. Are you going to go wake up Glimmer?” Adora asked, beginning to absentmindedly run her fingers through Catras hair, while she stubbornly kept her eyes closed and pretended to ignore them.

“Yeah, you wanna come?”

Adora looked down at Catra, her hair tousled on one side from sleep, with her body pressed right up against Adoras under the blankets that still held their warmth.

With a fond smile pulling at her lips, she told Bow, “We’ll meet you guys at breakfast.”

Bow gave an understanding grin, quietly making his way back through the room and shutting the doors behind him as he left.

Adora sank back under the covers, watching Catra doze for a few more moments with her face only inches from hers on the pillow before she brought a hand up to lightly scratch behind her ear, causing it to flick against her palm.

“Merry Christmas,” She whispered into the space between them, leaning forward to press a kiss between Catras eyebrows.

With her eyes still closed she leaned into Adoras touch, a soft purr starting to rise from her chest. “I still don’t understand how a holiday can last an _entire_ month.” 

“Well, today is the actual holiday,” Adora explained. “But… I don’t know, I thought it was all really fun…”

Hearing Adoras tone Catra finally opened her eyes to meet hers across the pillow. “Yeah, yeah, you’re a sap,” She teased. “Merry Christmas or whatever.”

It was tempting to stay in bed, to spend the morning wrapped up together and speaking in hushed tones like they were back in their bunk in the Fright Zone but so much more comfortable, but hunger and the call of the most amazing breakfast on Etheria eventually won out.

Glimmer and Bow were already in the dining hall when they arrived, Bow with a plate of waffles for Adora and pancakes with whip cream for Catra, and Glimmer nursing a steaming mug of tea while looking like she wished she was still asleep.

Present opening revealed that Catra had been no better at wrapping then Adora, with taped up claw marks through the paper a sign of frustration during the process. It turned out that Adora and Catra had had the same idea though, as neither of their gifts to each other were under the tree.

“I wanted to give you yours later, when we’re alone,” Adora told Catra while Glimmer and Bow were distracted by being sentimental with each other after a particularly heartfelt gift.

“Me too,” Catra said, leaning into Adoras shoulder with an arm around her back. “I didn’t want to make you cry in front of all your friends.”

Adora bumped her side. “Are you sure it’s not because _you_ didn’t want to cry in front of all our friends?”

Catra bristled, her tail thumping against the floor behind her, making Adora burst into laughter. “What, _no_?!” She playfully shoved her away only for Adora to snuggle right back in, undeterred.

Across from them Glimmer was practically in Bows lap as the two giggled. Adora met Catras eye and quickly looked around her for a balled up piece of wrapping paper that was within reach, throwing it to harmlessly bounce off Bow's shoulder.

“Get a room,” Catra jeered while Adora snickered.

“We’re not the ones making plans to ‘give gifts in private’ later,” Glimmer shot back with a smirk.

Adora felt her face flush, burning from jaw to hairline while Catra threw her head back at the reaction, her arms around Adora shaking from her full-body laughter. “We’re not- it isn’t- I really mean a _real present_!” She insisted.

That night, sitting around a small fire with Catra, Bow, and Glimmer, in the throne room that had been covered in pillows and low couches and fireplaces like every year before, Adora watched the rest of the princesses arrive and shuffled seats to make room for them in their circle as they settled in.

She saw Frosta, wearing a dress that Bow had commented looked a little light to wear in such cold and earned a lecture about how this was nothing compared to the Kingdom of Snows, run to Perfuma and Scorpia when they arrived. She jumped into Scorpias arms and began talking a mile-a-minute as if they hadn’t seen each other just two days before.

Entrapta was the next to get there, with Hordak - who looked stiff and unsure but relaxed just a little when Entrapta wrapped a rope of hair around his arm and flashed him a wide smile - and Wrong Hordak - who was quick to greet everyone enthusiastically, his hair dyed red for the occasion. 

Mermistas entrance was announced before she even appeared in the doorway by the sound of Sea Hawk singing carols as he anchored his ship in the waters outside. Adora began preparing herself for an evening of poor shanty-inspired renditions of already cheesy songs.

Netossa and Spinerella brought desserts, despite knowing the tables would already be overflowing with food the Brightmoon kitchen had prepared. They explained it was a bet to see which of their creations was gone first and, thus, who was the better cook. Adora made a mental note of which treats were theirs so she could take equal amounts and avoid adding fuel to their competitive fire.

Once they were all together they were easily the loudest group in the room, with several conversations being had over each other at once, the clinking of mugs as they cheersed to one thing or another, and constant laughter that echoed against the marble walls.

Adora almost spilled her hot chocolate while listening to King Micah when he joined them, sitting with an arm around Glimmer's shoulders and sharing stories of her early Christmases.

“She ran around pushing everyone where she wanted them around the tree,” He chuckled, ignoring Glimmer's groaning protest as she buried her face in her hands. “And telling us we all had to hold hands. We didn’t even know what song we were supposed to be singing!”

“I saw it in that book mom read me, okay?” Glimmer tried to explain, peeking out from behind her hands, revealing her red cheeks.

“Aw, don’t be embarrassed, Glimmer,” Bow consoled with a teasing lilt, patting her knee. “We could try that now if you’d like!”

“Speak for yourself,” Catra quipped, sipping her apple cider with a smirk. “Man, you were a dork kid, Sparkles.”

“Pssh,” Adora snorted, quirking an eyebrow at her. “Do I have to tell them about the time you convinced our entire squad that cat people were nocturnal and that meant you got extra powerful at night?”

Catra tensed, glaring at her with betrayal. “What- _Adora-_ you-!”

Scorpia shot forward in her seat. “Is _that_ where that rumor came from?! Oh boy, I still believed that for months after we met, Catra!”

“What?!” Catra cried. “I only told _our_ squad that!”

“Yeah, but you know how it was,” Scorpia chortled fondly. “You tell someone something and they tell someone else and next thing you know everyone and Hordak knows about it.”

From where he sat at the edge of the group Hordak intoned, “I never heard about this.”

“I believe it’s a ‘figure of speech,’” Entrapta explained for him in a too-loud whisper.

“So she doesn’t get more powerful at night, right?” Frosta asked, her eyes darting between everyone in the group as she tried to follow the exchange.

“No,” Perfuma assured her. “Nocturnal just means a creature that stays awake at night and sleeps in the day, and I believe only true cats are nocturnal.”

As the conversation drifted off in different directions and the mug in Adoras hand emptied, she turned to Catra. “Hey, wanna go upstairs for a bit?”

Catra gave a crooked grin and nodded, and with a quick promise to their friends that they would return they ducked out of the throne room.

Their bedroom was dark, and thankfully quiet after the commotion of the party.

“Look, it’s snowing again,” Adora motioned towards the balcony. Hands clasped between them, they stepped outside into the frigid air. The snow had eased up during the day, giving the staff time to shovel pathways through the castle grounds, though the heavy clouds had remained overhead, and now big, fluffy flakes were beginning to fall once again, making their way to the ground in a slow, twirling dance.

Catra squeezed Adoras hand. “I’m gonna grab your gift, okay?”

She ran back inside and Adora could hear her rummaging through drawers. While she waited Adora felt her own nerves setting in as she anticipated giving Catra her gift in return. Her fingers began to fidget with the wing shaped pin on her belt that she had gotten when she first arrived in Brightmoon to replace her old Horde badge, a symbol of her allegiance to this place, to these people, to the home she had chosen.

But her home had never been a place, not really.

Catra returned to Adoras' side, Melog coming to sit in the balcony doorway rather than following her all the way out into the cold and wet.

“Uh, so I guess, here,” Catra so eloquently said, holding out a thick, sort of vaguely triangular-shaped, lumpy something wrapped in bright green and silver paper.

Adora took it from her, her hand immediately dropping in the air when Catra let go and she took the full weight of the object inside. “What, did you get me a brick?” She snarked.

“Just open it,” Catra demanded, rolling her eyes.

Adora placed it on the railing to tear the paper off, slowly uncovering a greenish-grey metallic surface, jagged edges, and then lines of blue and red that made up a drawing as the last of the paper fell away.

“It’s a piece of our old bunk, in the Fright Zone,” Catra began, her voice pitching slightly with obvious nervousness. “It’s not- not our original drawings, the ones we did when we were thirteen, but I asked Scorpia if I could cut out a piece before she tore down the barracks and I redid them...”

Adora only half heard Catras rambling explanation as she ran her fingers over the new drawings. The portrait of her had only half her hair pulled back, the way she had started wearing it that year. Catras was without her old face mask, its hair reaching to her jaw. The art, while updated, was still clearly Catras style, the same one as the drawings they had illicitly made on the side of their bunk one night while speaking in whispers and muffling snickers to not get caught.

Seeing the tears that filled Adoras eyes Catra leaned forward to meet her gaze. “...I know my art hasn’t improved much but I didn’t think it was _that_ bad,” She lightly deprecated.

Adora inhaled a trembling breath and shook her head, grabbing Catra by the shoulder and pulling her into her arms.

“Thank you,” Adora whispered into her neck when her throat cleared enough for her to get words out.

“The Fright Zone wasn’t much of a home, but, we made it the best one we could while we were there,” Catra summarized for her exactly what Adora wanted, and couldn’t at the moment find the words, to say. “I thought we should have something to remember it.”

Adora hadn’t been fully crying before, but she was then. 

Catra patted her back, holding her tight, until Adora pulled away, taking a deep breath to steady herself. Catra reached out a hand, gently wiping a tear from Adoras cheek with the pad of her thumb.

Adora gave a wet laugh. “I um- you ruined my whole… I had a whole thing planned, but,” She spluttered. With fingers numb from the cold and shaking from emotion she reached down, unclipping the pin at her waist. “Remember a while ago, when Netossa told us about her and Spinerella wearing each other's necklaces being a sign of their commitment?”

Catra watched with wide eyes as Adora held the golden wing out to her. “I already took the shape of your mask as She-Ra, before I even- before I even knew about that, and I don’t know if you want to wear Brightmoons symbol, even though you… you know, live here now, and-”

“Help me put it on?” Catra interrupted.

Adora released a breath that had been stuck in her throat, relieved.

She stepped into Catras chest, pulling at her shirt to stick the pin through just under her collarbone. It glistened in the pale light of the moons through the clouds, and when she looked up, so did Catras eyes. Her face was only inches from Adoras, her cheeks and the tip of her nose pink from the cold, and her expression open and full of a tenderness that was becoming more and more common to see these days. 

A snowflake had landed on her cheek, sitting amongst the freckles there. A familiar warmth settled in Adoras chest as she reached up to brush the flake away, her fingers lingering on Catras cheekbone, watching her lips part slightly at Adoras touch and the visible puff of breath rise in the air.

She closed the distance between them, pressing her lips to Catras.

“We have to get back down there,” Adora muttered when they separated just an inch, their foreheads together and Adoras eyes still closed, as if she could savor the kiss longer if she didn’t open them. 

“You know, everyone is going to freak out when they see this,” Catra said, touching the pin that now sat against her chest. Adora wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into her side as they made for the door.

“Good,” Adora said proudly.

Catra raised an eyebrow, giving a wicked grin and bumping their hips as they walked. “Oh, I like when you’re possessive,” She purred.

Adora nearly choked at that statement, and a glance at Catra out of the corner of her eyes to see her smirking set them both off, laughter echoing in the empty hallway they walked through. Adora playfully pushed her, Catra stumbling slightly before throwing an arm around Adoras shoulder.

The throne room was exactly the way they had left it, the only difference the party goers' ever moving positions throughout the room, and the circle of their friends changing seats with different conversations amongst each other. They all looked up to greet Adora and Catra when they came in.

Then Spinerellas face lit up and she cried, “Wait!”

Adora and Catra paused mid-step.

She beamed and pointed to something above their head. Adora looked up to see the small plant with a cluster of white berries hanging low from the ceiling. 

“You’re under the mistletoe!”

At her side, Netossa folded her arms. “You know what that means.”

There was a mix of cheers and groans alike from the rest of the group as Adora and Catra looked at each other.

“I mean, it’s a rule,” Adora shrugged with faux nonchalance.

Catra shook her head. “You’re a dork.”

Adora kissed her, and then kissed her again, melting into Catras hands that came up to cup her face.

“ _Uuuugh_ , Mistletoe is a dumb tradition,” Adora heard Mermista complain from her seat.

Frosta shot back, “You weren’t saying that when you and Sea Hawk were-.”

As they all started to banter back and forth Adora finally relented, letting Catra go with a quick kiss to the tip of her nose.

“I’ll grab us some drinks, you want more cider?” Adora asked, tracing the shape of Catras jaw with her fingertips, admiring the flush still coloring her skin.

“Extra cinnamon,” Catra reminded as if Adora would forget how she liked it.

Adora made her way to the drinks table, listening to Catra behind her rejoin the group, and smirking when she heard the inevitable: “Is that Adoras pin?”

As she waited for the drinks she turned to watch Catra, her cheeks red and her tail lashing back and forth behind her, suddenly the center of attention as Bow clasped his hands to his chest with that breathtaken look on his face and Scorpia pulled her into a hug and Glimmer folded her arms over her chest with a smug expression.

And despite Catras protests that Adora could see from across the room she could tell she didn’t truly mind - it was in the way she patted Scorpias arm and rolled her eyes at Bow with amusement and her sarcastic smile at Glimmer that lacked any of the real malice it had once held.

Adora felt a wave of emotion wash over her so strong it stole her breath, made her feel like her body wasn’t big enough to contain it all, all the excitement and peace and happiness, and above all gratefulness and the sense that everything was just so _right_.

She was in Brightmoon, a real home, celebrating a holiday with all of her friends, safe like she couldn’t have imagined less than a year ago, _happy_ like she couldn’t have imagined less then a year ago when her moments of joy were always overshadowed or interrupted by disaster and heartache.

And Catra was with her - safe as well, and surrounded by people that gave her the love and recognition Adora always wanted for her, accepting it and loving them back, Adoras friend again and _more_ , more in the most _amazing_ way, 

And the twinkling lights and bright colors around them just complimented the scene so perfectly. 

_Christmas_ seemed to wrap it all together so perfectly.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact about the author: the story Micah is telling about Glimmer is something that I actually made my family do when I was a kid and wish I could curl up in a ball every time they bring it up now  
> tumblr: [here](https://bookwormpride.tumblr.com/)


End file.
